Lady Longhorns enjoy historic volleyball season

    The 2021 volleyball season was one for the record books at Chase County.
    The team opened the season with its first ever win over Ogallala, a feat it duplicated in subdistrict volleyball.
    The Longhorns, 26-5, also had their best season since 2015 when CCS went 24-4.
    Names will also be shuffled in the record books. Bryn McNair finished the season with 458 kills, two better than Morgan Strand’s 2008 record.
    Seniors Chloe Dillan, Jerzee Milner and Lucy Spady set the tone for the team and were instrumental in its success this season, CCS Head Coach April Lambert said.
    “They set goals in the summer and took on the role of leaders to nurture a team culture that ensured the inclusion of every team member and the building of our team of foundational principles around being a good teammate and focusing on positive growth,” Lambert said, adding the team had a list of about 25 goals in the locker room that they would check off and work through each week.
    In her second year as starting setter, Lambert said Milner became much more consistent, confident and offensive with her decision making, while being a tremendous server, blocker and defender..
    “The saying in volleyball goes that your team is only as good as your setter, and we had a really great one this year,” Lambert said.
    Milner led CCS in assists and Lambert pointed out that she also had a lot of games where she didn’t miss a serve.
    Dillan split time between defensive specialist and libero last year, then stepped into the libero roll full time in 2021. She finished second on the team in digs.
    “There were so many times when our hitters got blocked and she was able to pop the ball up and give us a second chance,” Lambert said.
    “Chloe is a very sweet person and was instrumental in leading and developing some of our younger players this year. She is completely selfless and humble and just strives to do her best all the time,” she added.
    Spady played every hitting position and moved to middle hitter midway through the season.
    “I know she was nervous about filling that role, but she did an excellent job. Great teams thrive off players who are willing to serve in whatever role the team needs to be successful,” Lambert said, adding that Spady brings a lot of energy and excitement to the game and loves her teammates.
    Overall, Lambert said the three were great young women and great leaders.
    “As volleyball players they were all in crucial roles: setters and liberos are some of the hardest positions to replace because they require experience and good decision making. Middle blocker is a role that a lot of girls shy away from because it is a tough job. We will really miss these three next year,” Lambert added.
    Juniors Joee Clevenger, Bryn McNair, Ali McNair, Liz Reeves, Kaylie Lotspeich and Gisselle Acuna raised their performances this season.
    With strong groups of juniors and seniors, Lambert said this year’s team was extremely well-bonded and had a lot of trust.
    “They worked extremely hard and had a perspective that playing together and celebrating each other was most important. There was a bigger purpose outside of winning volleyball games and that was just enjoying the sport and enjoying your teammates,” Lambert said.
    Lambert’s high of the season was the Longhorns’ first game.
    “For the first game, you just never know how you are going to match up with another team in a competitive setting. I think that game set the standard of success for our season and gave the girls a lot of belief that they could go pretty far,” she said.
    Chase County’s loss to 27-6 Cambridge, a state qualifier in Class D1, during the McCook Invite was a low of the season, according to Lambert.
    “Obviously, they are a great team because they made it to state in D1, but we were having a lot of confidence and hesitation issues in that game and we didn’t play our best. It did propel us forward though,” Lambert said.
    With camps and clinics in July, then conditioning and games starting in August, Lambert said volleyball can start to feel like a grind by the time the season ends in November.
    This group made it really fun, she said.
    “There was so much to celebrate this season, so many great plays, and that’s what I love about the sport,” Lambert said. Some of her favorite memories were the team-based plays where the girls celebrated each other, like a great pass that set up a kill or a smart setter dump with a hitter decoy or a great team block or scrappy dig off coverage.
    “We just played smart, fun, team volleyball this year, which is the biggest goal. We had a great team on the court and a great team on the bench. Our younger teams really developed and showed a lot of heart and a lot of progress. It was a really fun season,” Lambert said.

2021 Chase County Volleyball (26-5)
Aug. 26    @ Ogallala (25-11)    3-2
Aug. 31    McCook (10-20)    2-0
Aug. 31    Minden (23-12)    0-2
Sept. 4    Lexington Invite
    Hershey (19-8)    2-0
    Broken Bow (25-8)    0-2
    NP St. Pat’s (17-13)    2-0
Sept. 7    Yuma, CO (9-14)    3-0
Sept. 14    @ Sedgwick Co., CO (9-3)    3-2
Sept. 18    McCook Invite
    Gering (13-21)    2-0
    Cambridge (27-6)    0-2
    Decatur Comm., KS (8-25)    2-0
Sept. 21    Sidney (21-15)    3-1
Sept. 23    Dundy Co. Stratton (0-27)    2-0
Sept. 23    St. Francis, KS (31-6)    2-0
Sept. 25    Sutherland Invite
    Southwest (19-11)    2-0
    Overton (26-5)    2-1
    Sutherland (15-16)    2-0
Sept. 28    Perkins County (17-14)    2-0
Sept. 28    Gothenburg (27-8)    0-2
Sept. 30    Sutherland (15-16)    2-0
Sept. 30    Maxwell (6-23)    2-0
Oct. 5    Southwest (19-11)    2-0
Oct. 5    NP St. Pat’s (17-13)    2-0
Oct. 7    @ Perkins County (17-14)    3-1
Oct. 12    Kimball (3-22)    3-0
Oct. 16     SPVA Tourney
    Hershey (19-8)    2-0
Oct. 16    NP St. Pat’s (17-13)    2-1
Oct. 19    Hershey (19-8)    3-0
Oct. 25-26    Subdistricts C1-12
    Ogallala (25-11)    3-2
    Mitchell (26-6)    3-2
Oct. 30    District Final C1-6
    Pierce (27-6)    0-3